Variable-damper multi-function heat pump air conditioner

ABSTRACT

A variable-damper multi-function heat pump air conditioner includes a housing defining a lower chamber and an upper chamber with a respective indoor-facing/outdoor-facing inlet and indoor-facing/outdoor-facing outlet, a lower damper and an upper damper respectively mounted in the lower chamber and the upper chamber, and an evaporator and a condenser of an air-conditioning system respectively mounted in the lower chamber at two opposite sides so that the air conditioner can run under the mode of cooling function in hot weather, the mode of heating function in cold weather, the mode of indoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging with/without cooling function in hot weather, the mode of indoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging with/without heating function in cold weather, the mode of one-fan-operation-only energy-saving quiet indoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging function, or the mode of dehumidifying with heating function in cold and humid weather by means of selectively controlling the operation of fans of the air-conditioning system and the positions of the upper and lower dampers.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to any reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as itappears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent files orrecords, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to air conditioning technology and moreparticularly, to a variable-damper multi-function heat pump airconditioner that allows adjustment of damper position to run under themode of cooling function in hot weather, the mode of heating function incold weather, the mode of indoor-air and outdoor-air exchangingwith/without cooling function in hot weather, the mode of indoor-air andoutdoor-air exchanging with/without heating function in cold weather,the mode of one-fan-operation-only energy-saving quiet indoor-air andoutdoor-air exchanging function, or the mode of dehumidifying withheating function in cold and humid weather.

2. Description of Related Arts

Regular air conditioners with cooling and heating functions are capableof supplying hot air to increase the temperature of the indoor space incold weather and supplying cold air to lower the temperature of theindoor space in hot weather. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional heat pumptype air-conditioner with cooling and heating functions, which uses afour-way valve and two one-way valves to control refrigerant flowingdirection, enabling the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heatexchanger to work as an evaporator or condenser, thereby cooling orheating the flow of air passing therethrough. However, because thefour-way valve works in high-pressure pipes, the pressure differencebetween at two opposite sides of the four-way valve during the operationcan be over 10 ATM. When switching the heating/cooling function throughfour-way valve at this time may cause damage the switching mechanism.Further, the arrangement of the four-way valve, one-way valves,expansion valves and multiple pipes in the air-conditioning systemgreatly complicates the structure of the heat pump type air-conditionerwith cooling and heating functions. Therefore, this design of heat pumptype air-conditioner with cooling and heating functions has thedisadvantages of high cost, high malfunction rate, maintenancedifficulty and short lifespan.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the energy conversion of an air-conditioneris: heating capacity (QH)=cooling capacity (QL)+electrical work (W).Thus, the surface area of the condenser must be 1.21.3 times of that ofthe evaporator to match the energy conversion rate. Therefore, theindoor and outdoor heat exchangers of this four-way valve-based heatpump type air-conditioner with cooling and heating functions must beused as an evaporator as well as a condenser. This design of airconditioner has many problems as follows:

1. If the air conditioner is designed mainly for the purpose of coolingfunction, the indoor heat-exchanger must be relatively smaller than theoutdoor heat-exchanger to match energy conversion during a coolingoperation to achieve high performance; however, when running the heatingfunction in cold weather, the energy conversion between the heatingcapacity (QH) and the cooling capacity (QL) shown in FIG. 2 will notmatch, leading to low performance, or causing the protection switch totrip off.

2. If the air-conditioner is designed mainly for the purpose of heatingfunction, the indoor heat-exchanger must be relatively larger than theoutdoor heat-exchanger to match energy conversion during a heatingoperation to achieve high performance However, when running the coolingfunction in hot weather, the energy conversion between the heatingcapacity (QH) and the cooling capacity (QL) shown in FIG. 2 will notmatch, leading to low performance, or causing the protection switch totrip off.

3. If the indoor heat-exchanger and the outdoor heat-exchanger are madein the same size, the energy conversion between the heating capacity(QH) and the cooling capacity (QL) either during a heating function or acooling function will not match.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a better heat pump typeair-conditioner with cooling and heating functions that eliminates theaforesaid problems.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances inview. It is therefore the main object of the present invention toprovide a variable-damper multi-function heat pump air conditioner,which eliminates the use of a four-way valve and allows adjustment ofdamper position to run under the mode of cooling function in hotweather, the mode of heating function in cold weather, the mode ofindoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging with/without cooling function inhot weather, the mode of indoor-air and outdoor-air exchangingwith/without heating function in cold weather, the mode ofone-fan-operation-only energy-saving quiet indoor-air and outdoor-airexchanging function, or the mode of dehumidifying with heating functionin cold and humid weather, the hot air is ever generated from the fixedbigger condenser and the cold air is ever generated from the fixedsmaller evaporator, thus both the high cooling and heating performancescan be obtained.

To achieve these objects of the present invention, a variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner in accordance with the presentinvention comprises a housing and an air-conditioning system mounted insaid housing, said air-conditioning system comprising a closed-looprefrigeration cycle formed of an evaporator, a condenser and acompressor, a first fan disposed at one lateral side relative to theevaporator, a second fan disposed at one lateral side relative to thecondenser, and a control unit for controlling the operation of theclosed-loop refrigeration cycle, the first fan and the second fan. Thehousing comprises a transverse partition plate, an upper chamber and alower chamber separated by the transverse partition plate, an upperdamper pivotally mounted in the upper chamber, a lower damper pivotallymounted in the lower chamber, an indoor-facing outlet and anoutdoor-facing outlet respectively located at opposing front side andback side of the upper chamber, an indoor-facing inlet and anoutdoor-facing inlet respectively located at opposing front side andback side of the lower chamber. The angular position of the upper damperand the angular position of the lower damper are adjustable to define acold air passage and a hot air passage separately in the housing. Theevaporator and the first fan are disposed in the cold air passage. Thecondenser and the second fan are disposed in the hot air passage. Thecold air passage and the hot air passage each define an air inlet endand an air outlet end. When the air inlet end of the cold air passage isconnected to the indoor-facing inlet and the outdoor-facing inlet of thelower chamber, the air inlet end of the hot air passage is connected tothe outdoor-facing inlet and the indoor-facing inlet of the lowerchamber. When the air outlet end of the cold air passage is connected tothe indoor-facing outlet and outdoor-facing outlet of the upper chamber,the air outlet end of the hot air passage is connected to theoutdoor-facing outlet and indoor-facing outlet of the upper chamber.

Thus, by means of controlling the angular position of the upper damperand the angular position of the lower damper, the air-conditioner can becontrolled to run under the mode of cooling function in hot weather, themode of heating function in cold weather, the mode of indoor-air andoutdoor-air exchanging with/without cooling function in hot weather, themode of indoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging with/without heatingfunction in cold weather, the mode of one-fan-operation-onlyenergy-saving quiet indoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging function, orthe mode of dehumidifying with heating function in cold and humidweather, improving the drawbacks of conventional four-way valve designs.Further, because cold air is constantly generated by the relativelysmaller evaporator and hot air is always generated by the relativelylarger condenser, the energy efficiency of cooling function as well asheating function is maintained at high level.

Further, the evaporator and the condenser are respectively disposed inthe lower chamber at two opposite sides. The first fan and the secondfan are respectively disposed above the evaporator and the condenser.The first fan and the second fan are respectively disposed in the upperchamber at two opposite sides for drawing cold air or hot air into theupper chamber.

Further, in an alternate form of the present invention, thevariable-damper multi-function heat pump air conditioner comprises ahousing and an air-conditioning system mounted in said housing, saidair-conditioning system comprising a closed-loop refrigeration cycleformed of an evaporator, a condenser and a compressor, a first fandisposed at one lateral side relative to the evaporator, a second fandisposed at one lateral side relative to the condenser, and a controlunit for controlling the operation of the closed-loop refrigerationcycle, the first fan and the second fan. The housing comprises atransverse partition plate, an upper chamber and a lower chamberseparated by the transverse partition plate, an upper damper pivotallymounted in the upper chamber, a lower damper pivotally mounted in thelower chamber, an indoor-facing outlet and an outdoor-facing outletrespectively located at opposing front side and back side of the upperchamber, an indoor-facing inlet and an outdoor-facing inlet respectivelylocated at opposing front side and back side of the lower chamber. Theangular position of the upper damper and the angular position of thelower damper are adjustable to define a cold air passage and a hot airpassage separately in the housing. The evaporator and the first fan aredisposed in the cold air passage. The condenser and the second fan aredisposed in the hot air passage. The cold air passage and the hot airpassage each define an air inlet end and an air outlet end. The upperchamber comprises an outlet door controllable by the control unit toclose/open the outdoor-facing outlet. The lower chamber comprises aninlet door controllable by the control unit to close/open theoutdoor-facing inlet. The upper damper and the lower damper arerespectively disposed perpendicular to the outdoor-facing outlet and theoutdoor-facing inlet. The air inlet ends of the cold air passage and thehot air passage are connected to the indoor-facing inlet of the lowerchamber. The air outlet ends of the cold air passage and the hot airpassage are connected to the indoor-facing outlet of the upper chamber.

Further, the evaporator and the condenser are respectively disposed inthe lower chamber at two opposite sides. The first fan and the secondfan are respectively disposed above the evaporator and the condenser.The first fan and the second fan are respectively disposed in the upperchamber at two opposite sides for drawing cold air or hot air into theupper chamber.

Because cold air is always generated by the relatively smallerevaporator and hot air is always generated by the relatively largercondenser, the energy efficiency of cooling function as well as heatingfunction is maintained at high level. Further, because no four-way valveis used, the invention greatly reduces the rate of mechanical damage,simplifies the structure of the heat pump air conditioner, improves theshortages, lowers the product manufacturing cost, and enhances thecompetitiveness of the product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing illustrating the functioning of aconventional heat pump type air conditioner with cooling and heatingfunctions.

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing illustrating the energy conversion of aheat pump type air conditioner with cooling and heating functions.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective structural view of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 a is a schematic plain view of the present invention,illustrating the status of the lower chamber of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner during the operation mode ofcooling function in hot weather.

FIG. 4 b is a schematic plain view of the present invention,illustrating the status of the upper chamber of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner during the operation mode ofcooling function in hot weather.

FIG. 5 a is a schematic plain view of the present invention,illustrating the status of the lower chamber of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner during the operation mode ofheating function in cold weather.

FIG. 5 b is a schematic plain view of the present invention,illustrating the status of the upper chamber of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner during the operation mode ofheating function in cold weather.

FIG. 6 a is a schematic plain view of the present invention,illustrating the status of the lower chamber of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner during the operation mode ofindoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging with/without cooling function inhot weather.

FIG. 6 b is a schematic plain view of the present invention,illustrating the status of the upper chamber of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner during the operation mode ofindoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging with/without cooling function inhot weather.

FIG. 7 a is a schematic plain view of the present invention,illustrating the status of the lower chamber of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner during the operation mode ofindoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging with/without heating function incold weather.

FIG. 7 b is a schematic plain view of the present invention,illustrating the status of the upper chamber of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner during the operation mode ofindoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging with/without heating function incold weather.

FIG. 8 a is a schematic plain view of the present invention,illustrating the status of the lower chamber of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner during the operation mode ofone-fan-operation-only energy-saving quiet indoor-air and outdoor-airexchanging function.

FIG. 8 b is a schematic plain view of the present invention,illustrating the status of the upper chamber of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner during the operation mode ofone-fan-operation-only energy-saving quiet indoor-air and outdoor-airexchanging function.

FIG. 9 a is a schematic plain view of the present invention,illustrating the status of the lower chamber of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner during the operation mode ofdehumidifying with heating function in cold and humid weather.

FIG. 9 b is a schematic plain view of the present invention,illustrating the status of the upper chamber of the variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner during the operation mode ofdehumidifying with heating function in cold and humid weather.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 3, a variable-damper multi-function heat pump airconditioner in accordance with the present invention is shown,comprising a housing 1 and an air-conditioning system 2.

The housing 1 comprises a transverse partition plate 11, an upperchamber 12 and a lower chamber 13 separated by the transverse partitionplate 11, an upper damper 14 pivotally mounted in the middle of theupper chamber 12, a lower damper 15 pivotally mounted in the middle ofthe lower chamber 13, an upper motor 141 adapted to rotate the upperdamper 14, a lower motor 151 adapted to rotate the lower damper 15, twovertical partition plates 142 disposed in the upper chamber 12 at twoopposite sides relative to the upper damper 14, each vertical partitionplate 142 defining an opening 143, an indoor-facing outlet 121 and anoutdoor-facing outlet 122 (see also FIG. 4 b) respectively formed inopposing front and back sides of the upper chamber 12, and anindoor-facing inlet 131 and an outdoor-facing inlet 132 (see also FIG. 4a) respectively formed in opposing front and back sides of the lowerchamber 13.

The air-conditioning system 2 is mounted in the housing 1, comprising aclosed-loop refrigeration cycle formed of an evaporator 21, an expansiondevice (not shown), a condenser 22 and a compressor 23, a first fan 25disposed at one lateral side relative to the evaporator 21, a second fan26 disposed at one lateral side relative to the condenser 22, and acontrol unit 24 that controls all designed air conditioning functions.The evaporator 21 and the condenser 22 are respectively mounted in thelower chamber 13 at two opposite sides relative to the lower damper 15.The first fan 25 and the second fan 26 are bilaterally mounted in theupper chamber 12 of the housing 1 at two opposite lateral sides relativeto the two vertical partition plates 142 and respectively disposed abovethe evaporator 21 and the condenser 22. The compressor 23, the uppermotor 141 and the lower motor 151 are respectively controlled by thecontrol unit 24, i.e., the control unit 24 controls the on/off status ofthe compressor 23 and the angular position of the upper damper 14 andthe angular position of the lower damper 15. Further, by means ofadjusting the angular position of the upper damper 14 and the angularposition of the lower damper 15, separated a cold air passage 3 and ahot air passage 4 are defined in the housing 1 (see FIGS. 4 a, 4 b, 5 aand 5 b). Further, the evaporator 21 and the first fan 25 are disposedin the cold air passage 3; the condenser 22 and the second fan 26 aredisposed in the hot air passage 4. Further, the cold air passage 3 hasits one end defined as an air inlet end 31, and its other end defined asan air outlet end 32. The hot air passage 4 has its one end defined asan air inlet end 41, and its other end defined as an air outlet end 42.Further, in order to maintain energy balance, the heat radiating area ofthe condenser 22 is preferably about 1.21.3 of the heat radiating areaof the evaporator 21.

The variable-damper multi-function heat pump air conditioner can beoperated in one of the following modes subject to different weatherconditions and purposes:

1. Cooling Function in Hot Weather:

Subject to the control of the control unit 24 under this operation mode,the compressor 23, the first fan 25 and the second fan 26 are startedup, and the upper damper 14 and the lower damper 15 are respectivelybiased to the position shown in FIG. 4 b and the position shown in FIG.4 a. At this time, the air inlet end 31 of the cold air passage 3 isconnected to the indoor-facing inlet 131; the air inlet end 41 of thehot air passage 4 is connected to the outdoor-facing inlet 132; the airoutlet end 32 of the cold air passage 3 is connected to theindoor-facing outlet 121; the air outlet end 42 of the hot air passage 4is connected to the outdoor-facing outlet 122. During the operation ofthe compressor 23, the condenser 22 is in the status of hightemperature, and the evaporator 21 is in the status of low temperature.At this time, the operation of the first fan 25 enables indoor air to besucked into the indoor-facing inlet 131 of the lower chamber 13 andcooled down by the evaporator 21, and then the cold air processedthrough the evaporator 21 is delivered into the indoor space through theindoor-facing outlet 121 of the upper chamber 12 (i.e., the cold airpassage 3). At the same time, the operation of the second fan 26 enablesoutside air to be sucked into the outdoor-facing inlet 132 of the lowerchamber 13 and heated by the condenser 22, and then the hot airprocessed through the condenser 22 is delivered into the outdoor spacethrough the outdoor-facing outlet 122 of the upper chamber 12 (i.e., thehot air passage 4), and thus cold air is being continuously provided tothe indoor space.

2. Heating Function in Cold Weather:

Subject to the control of the control unit 24 under this operation mode,the compressor 23, the first fan 25 and the second fan 26 are startedup, and the upper damper 14 and the lower damper 15 are respectivelybiased to the position shown in FIG. 5 b and the position shown in FIG.5 a. At this time, the air inlet end 31 of the cold air passage 3 isconnected to the outdoor-facing inlet 132; the air inlet end 41 of thehot air passage 4 is connected to the indoor-facing inlet 131; the airoutlet end 32 of the cold air passage 3 is connected to theoutdoor-facing outlet 122; the air outlet end 42 of the hot air passage4 is connected to the indoor-facing outlet 121. During the operation ofthe compressor 23, the condenser 22 is in the status of hightemperature, and the evaporator 21 is in the status of low temperature.At this time, the operation of the second fan 26 enables indoor air tobe sucked into the indoor-facing inlet 131 of the lower chamber 13 andheated by the condenser 22, and then the hot air processed through thecondenser 22 is delivered into the indoor space through theindoor-facing outlet 121 of the upper chamber 12 (i.e., the hot airpassage 4). At the same time, the operation of the first fan 25 enablesoutside air to be sucked into the outdoor-facing inlet 132 of the lowerchamber 13 and cooled down by the evaporator 21, and then the cold airprocessed through the evaporator 21 is delivered into the outdoor spacethrough the outdoor-facing outlet 122 of the upper chamber 12 (i.e., thecold air passage 3), and thus hot air is being continuously provided tothe indoor space.

3. Indoor-Air and Outdoor-Air Exchanging with/without Cooling Functionin Hot Weather:

In order to maintain indoor air quality during an air conditioningoperation to provide cold air to the indoor space in hot weather,indoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging must be periodically performed.Subject to the control of the control unit 24 under this operation mode,the compressor 23, the first fan 25 and the second fan 26 are startedup, and the upper damper 14 and the lower damper 15 are respectivelybiased to the position shown in FIG. 6 b and the position shown in FIG.6 a. At this time, the air inlet end 31 of the cold air passage 3 isconnected to the outdoor-facing inlet 132; the air inlet end 41 of thehot air passage 4 is connected to the indoor-facing inlet 131; the airoutlet end 32 of the cold air passage 3 is connected to theindoor-facing outlet 121; the air outlet end 42 of the hot air passage 4is connected to the outdoor-facing outlet 122. During the operation ofthe compressor 23, the condenser 22 is in the status of hightemperature, and the evaporator 21 is in the status of low temperature.At this time, the operation of the first fan 25 enables outdoor air tobe sucked into the outdoor-facing inlet 132 of the lower chamber 13 andcooled down by the evaporator 21, and then the cold air processedthrough the evaporator 21 is delivered into the indoor space through theindoor-facing outlet 121 of the upper chamber 12 (i.e., the cold airpassage 3). At the same time, the operation of the second fan 26 enablesindoor air to be sucked into the indoor-facing inlet 131 of the lowerchamber 13 and heated by the condenser 22, and then the hot airprocessed through the condenser 22 is delivered into the outdoor spacethrough the outdoor-facing outlet 122 of the upper chamber 12 (i.e., thehot air passage 4), and thus an indoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging isperformed when cold air is being continuously provided to the indoorspace. Alternatively, if the outdoor temperature is in the pleasanttemperature range about 20˜25oC. The control unit 24 can be controlledto stop the compressor 23, interrupting the refrigeration cycle andsaving energy consumption. At this time, only the first fan 25 and thesecond fan 26 are in operation, enabling outdoor fresh air to be guidedinto the indoor space and indoor foul air to be discharged out of theindoor space, achieving indoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging andimproving indoor air quality.

4. Indoor-Air and Outdoor-Air Exchanging with/without Heating Functionin Cold Weather:

In order to maintain indoor air quality during an air conditioningoperation to provide hot air to the indoor space in cold weather,indoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging must be periodically performed.Subject to the control of the control unit 24 under this operation mode,the compressor 23, the first fan 25 and the second fan 26 are startedup, and the upper damper 14 and the lower damper 15 are respectivelybiased to the position shown in FIG. 7 b and the position shown in FIG.7 a. At this time, the air inlet end 31 of the cold air passage 3 isconnected to the indoor-facing inlet 131; the air inlet end 41 of thehot air passage 4 is connected to the outdoor-facing inlet 132; the airoutlet end 32 of the cold air passage 3 is connected to theoutdoor-facing outlet 122; the air outlet end 42 of the hot air passage4 is connected to the indoor-facing outlet 121. During the operation ofthe compressor 23, the condenser 22 is in the status of hightemperature, and the evaporator 21 is in the status of low temperature.At this time, the operation of the second fan 26 enables outdoor air tobe sucked into the outdoor-facing inlet 132 of the lower chamber 13 andheated by the condenser 22, and then the hot air processed through thecondenser 22 is delivered into the indoor space through theindoor-facing outlet 121 of the upper chamber 12 (i.e., the hot airpassage 4). At the same time, the operation of the first fan 25 enablesindoor air to be sucked into the indoor-facing inlet 131 of the lowerchamber 13 and cooled down by the evaporator 21, and then the cold airprocessed through the evaporator 21 is delivered into the outdoor spacethrough the outdoor-facing outlet 122 of the upper chamber 12 (i.e., thecold air passage 3), and thus an indoor-air and outdoor-air exchangingis performed when hot air is being continuously provided to the indoorspace. Alternatively, if the outdoor temperature is in the pleasanttemperature range about 20˜25oC. The control unit 24 can be controlledto stop the compressor 23, interrupting the refrigeration cycle andsaving energy consumption. At this time, only the first fan 25 and thesecond fan 26 are in operation, enabling outdoor fresh air to be guidedinto the indoor space and indoor foul air to be discharged out of theindoor space, achieving indoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging andimproving indoor air quality.

5. One-Fan-Operation-Only Energy-Saving Quiet Indoor-Air and Outdoor-AirExchanging Function:

If the outdoor air is in comfortable temperature, the refrigerationcycle can be stopped, and only one single fan is operated to drawoutdoor fresh air into the indoor space, achieving an energy-saving andquiet air-conditioning function. Subject to the control of the controlunit 24 under this operation mode, the compressor 23 and the first fan25 are turned off, and the second fan 26 is in operation, and the upperdamper 14 and the lower damper 15 are respectively biased to theposition shown in FIG. 8 b and the position shown in FIG. 8 a. At thistime, the air inlet end 41 of the hot air passage 4 is connected to theoutdoor-facing inlet 132; the air outlet end 42 of the hot air passage 4is connected to the indoor-facing outlet 121. Because the outdoortemperature is in the pleasant temperature range about 20˜25oC at thistime, the compressor 23 and the first fan 25 are turned off, and onlythe second fan 26 is in operation, enabling outdoor fresh air to besucked into the indoor space through the indoor-facing outlet 121 of theupper chamber 12 (hot air passage 4). Because only one single fan is inoperation, energy consumption and fan noise level are reduced. Thisoperation mode is suitable for application in the midnight as thetemperature decreases and quiet air conditioning is requested. At thistime, the indoor space is maintained under positive pressure, andtherefore, only indoor air can flow toward the outdoor space throughgaps in the windows subject to the pressure difference between indoorsand outdoors. Further, the use of filters can stop insects and dust fromentering the indoor space. Thus, due to the effect of the indoorpositive pressure, the indoor air is maintained clean.

6. Dehumidifying with Heating Function in Cold and Humid Weather:

If dehumidification and hot air are needed at the same time in coldweather and humid climate, an outlet door 123 is provided at theoutdoor-facing outlet 122 of the upper chamber 12, as shown in FIG. 9 b,and an inlet door 133 is provided at the outdoor-facing inlet 132 of thelower chamber 13, as shown in FIG. 9 a. At this time, the control unit24 can be controlled to drive the outlet door 123 and the inlet door 133to close the outdoor-facing outlet 122 of the upper chamber 12 and theoutdoor-facing inlet 132 of the lower chamber 13 respectively, and tobias the upper damper 14 and the lower damper 15 to the positions shownin FIGS. 9 b and 9 a where the upper damper 14 and the lower damper 15are respectively kept perpendicular to the outlet door 123 and the inletdoor 133. At this time, the air inlet end 31 of the cold air passage 3and the air inlet end 41 of the hot air passage 4 are connected to theindoor-facing inlet 131; the air outlet end 32 of the cold air passage 3and the air outlet end 42 of the hot air passage 4 are connected to theindoor-facing outlet 121. Thus, under cold and humid weather, thecompressor 23 keeps working, the condenser 22 is in the status of hightemperature, and the evaporator 21 is in the status of low temperature.At this time, the operation of the second fan 26 enables a part ofindoor air to be sucked into the indoor-facing inlet 131 of the lowerchamber 13 and heated by the condenser 22 and then delivered into theindoor space through the indoor-facing outlet 121 of the upper chamber12, and the first fan 25 enables another part of indoor air to be suckedinto the indoor-facing inlet 131 of the lower chamber 13 and cooled downby the evaporator 21 and then delivered into the indoor space throughthe indoor-facing outlet 121 of the upper chamber 12. At this same time,the part of indoor air going through the cold air passage 3 isdehumidified by the evaporator 21, the part of indoor air going throughthe hot air passage 4 is heated by the condenser 22. Because the thermalenergy of hot air increased is greater than the thermal energy of coldair reduced (the difference is the work of the compressor), the functionof dehumidifying with heating function in cold and humid weather isachieved.

Therefore, either the compressor 23 is in operation or not, the firstfan 25 and the second fan 26 work at the same time or only one fan isworking, the control unit 24 can be operated to control the angularposition of the upper damper 14 and the angular position of the lowerdamper 15, and to run under the mode of cooling function in hot weather,the mode of heating function in cold weather, the mode of indoor-air andoutdoor-air exchanging with/without cooling function in hot weather, themode of indoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging with/without heatingfunction in cold weather, the mode of one-fan-operation-onlyenergy-saving quiet indoor-air and outdoor-air exchanging function, orthe mode of dehumidifying with heating function in cold and humidweather, improving the drawbacks of conventional four-way valve designs.Further, because cold air is constantly generated by the relativelysmaller evaporator 21 and hot air is always generated by the relativelylarger condenser 22, the energy efficiency of cooling function as wellas heating function is maintained at high level. Further, because nofour-way valve is used, the invention greatly reduces the rate ofmechanical damage, simplifies the structure of the hot pump airconditioner, improves the shortages, lowers the product manufacturingcost, and enhances the competitiveness of the product.

In conclusion, the invention provides a variable-damper multi-functionheat pump air conditioner, which involves an inventive step andeffectively eliminates the drawbacks of conventional four-way valve typehot/cold dual-function air conditioners.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described indetail for purposes of illustration, various modifications andenhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except asby the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A variable-damper multi-function heat pump airconditioner, comprising a housing and an air-conditioning system mountedin said housing, said air-conditioning system comprising a closed-looprefrigeration cycle formed of an evaporator, a condenser and acompressor, a first fan disposed at one lateral side relative to saidevaporator, a second fan disposed at one lateral side relative to saidcondenser, and a control unit for controlling the operation of saidclosed-loop refrigeration cycle, said first fan and said second fan,wherein: said housing comprises a transverse partition plate, an upperchamber and a lower chamber separated by said transverse partitionplate, an upper damper pivotally mounted in said upper chamber, a lowerdamper pivotally mounted in said lower chamber, an indoor-facing outletand an outdoor-facing outlet respectively located at opposing front sideand back side of said upper chamber, an indoor-facing inlet and anoutdoor-facing inlet respectively located at opposing front side andback side of said lower chamber; the angular position of said upperdamper and the angular position of said lower damper are adjustable todefine a cold air passage and a hot air passage separately in saidhousing; said evaporator and said first fan are disposed in said coldair passage; said condenser and said second fan are disposed in said hotair passage; said cold air passage and said hot air passage eachdefining an air inlet end and an air outlet end; when said air inlet endof said cold air passage is connected to said indoor-facing inlet andsaid outdoor-facing inlet of said lower chamber, said air inlet end ofsaid hot air passage is connected to said outdoor-facing inlet and saidindoor-facing inlet of said lower chamber; when said air outlet end ofsaid cold air passage is connected to said indoor-facing outlet and saidoutdoor-facing outlet of said upper chamber, said air outlet end of saidhot air passage is connected to said outdoor-facing outlet and saidindoor-facing outlet of said upper chamber.
 2. The variable-dampermulti-function heat pump air conditioner as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid evaporator and said condenser are respectively disposed in saidlower chamber at two opposite sides; said first fan and said second fanare respectively disposed above said evaporator and said condenser; saidfirst fan and said second fan are respectively disposed in said upperchamber at two opposite sides for drawing cold air or hot air into saidupper chamber.
 3. A variable-damper multi-function heat pump airconditioner, comprising a housing and an air-conditioning system mountedin said housing, said air-conditioning system comprising a closed-looprefrigeration cycle formed of an evaporator, a condenser and acompressor, a first fan disposed at one lateral side relative to saidevaporator, a second fan disposed at one lateral side relative to saidcondenser, and a control unit for controlling the operation of saidclosed-loop refrigeration cycle, said first fan and said second fan,wherein: said housing comprises a transverse partition plate, an upperchamber and a lower chamber separated by said transverse partitionplate, an upper damper pivotally mounted in said upper chamber, a lowerdamper pivotally mounted in said lower chamber, an indoor-facing outletand an outdoor-facing outlet respectively located at opposing front sideand back side of said upper chamber, an indoor-facing inlet and anoutdoor-facing inlet respectively located at opposing front side andback side of said lower chamber; the angular position of said upperdamper and the angular position of said lower damper are adjustable todefine a cold air passage and a hot air passage separately in saidhousing; said evaporator and said first fan are disposed in said coldair passage; said condenser and said second fan are disposed in said hotair passage; said cold air passage and said hot air passage each definean air inlet end and an air outlet end; said upper chamber comprises anoutlet door controllable by said control unit to close/open saidoutdoor-facing outlet; said lower chamber comprises an inlet doorcontrollable by said control unit to close/open said outdoor-facinginlet; said upper damper and said lower damper are respectively disposedperpendicular to said outdoor-facing outlet and said outdoor-facinginlet; the air inlet ends of said cold air passage and said hot airpassage are connected to said indoor-facing inlet of said lower chamber;the air outlet ends of said cold air passage and said hot air passageare connected to said indoor-facing outlet of said upper chamber.
 4. Thevariable-damper multi-function heat pump air conditioner as claimed inclaim 3, wherein said evaporator and said condenser are respectivelydisposed in said lower chamber at two opposite sides; said first fan andsaid second fan are respectively disposed above said evaporator and saidcondenser; said first fan and said second fan are respectively disposedin said upper chamber at two opposite sides for drawing cold air and hotair into said upper chamber.